LAKEWOOD — Keyia Johnson’s co-workers say her colorful personality makes everything else seem dull. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, the stylist at the Floyd’s 99 Barbershop in Lakewood still has energy that beats the shop’s flamboyant walls covered with rock-star images.
“She still wants to come to work. She offered to come in for four hours a day doing anything she can,” said store manager Melissa McNew. “She is one of the hardest workers we have.”
Two weeks ago, Johnson, 38, was diagnosed with stomach cancer and given a short time to survive.
The single mother has nine children; the six who live at home range in age from 5 to 15.
During the past eight months Johnson suffered through severe stomach pains that were misdiagnosed by several doctors.
News of her cancer struck everyone, including co-workers, whose initial reaction was to help.
“We thought we could do something, so we started collecting money for groceries,” McNew said.
But with Johnson out her weekly paycheck and months of uninsured cancer treatment on the horizon, the Floyd’s staff wasn’t satisfied with just $400 for groceries.
On Sunday, the store hosted a “cut-a-thon,” with all the day’s profits, employee wages and tips going to Johnson. Eleven other area Floyd’s shops contributed by donating tips for the day.
And Floyd’s owners have committed to paying Johnson’s hourly wage “for as long as it takes for her to get better,” said part-owner Paul O’Brien.
“I want to cry. It just feels nice — a happy cry,” Johnson said Sunday after arriving to a barrage of hugs and a crowded barbershop. She was joined by her mom and five of her children — a small part of her very large support system. John son, the youngest of nine siblings, has plenty of help if she’ll use it.
“She got up this morning, and she started cooking and doing everything,” said Johnson’s mom, Joan Johnson.
With four days of chemotherapy behind her, Keyia Johnson is going about her life as if nothing’s wrong.
“I accept it, but I don’t claim it and I’m not going to,” Johnson said. “In the house we don’t use the ‘c’ word — we don’t use ‘cancer;’ we don’t say, ‘Mommy’s sick;’ we don’t say I’m sick. We just keep moving like it’s not even there. That’s how I’m getting through this.”
After the fundraiser, Johnson was off to her granddaughter’s second birthday party.
“We pray. That’s a must in our family,” Joan Johnson said. “I believe in miracles.”
Anthony Bowe 303-954-1661 or abowe@denverpost.com
